Massage vibrator



May 3, 1949. H SNYDER 2,468,949

` MASSAGE VIBRATOR l I Filed Sept.' 22, '1945 Zig- 4i I l J2EE/1220.7:ZE/HZZLZH 512 7a/Ez" Patented May 3, 1949 UNITED PATENT FICE MASSAGEvisitaron.

Leland' H. Snyder, Chicago,v Ill.,v assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Knapp-Monarch Company, St. Louis, Mo., acorporation of Delaware Application September 22,l 1945, SerialNo..618,026.

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in electrio massage vibrators ofthe type that are intended to bel positioned on the back of an oper;-ators hand and in which a solenoid imparts vibration to the operatorsfingers througll a pad,

usually a rubber pad.l

The gener-alf object of the, invention is to; provide a device of thecharacter described designed.

to impart vigorous vibration from a solenoid to a resilient padsupported on the back of the operators fingers.,

Another object oi the invention isv to provide. a massage vibratorhavinga solenoid housed` Within a casing, but wholly supported upon a springWhose vibrations are-'imparted to a resilient pad.

Another object ofthe invention is to. provide an electric massage devicewherein the solenoid the solenoid with both itsv coil. and plunger freeto vibrate andl located nearV that end of the vibrator which is nearestVthe finger tips of the operator4 during use. v I

Other objects andv advantages of the invention Willbeapparent from the;followingy specification, taken in connection with the accompanyingdraw-ings in-V which Figure 1 is 'a top` plan vlew/ of a devicemade inaccordance with this' invention;

Figure 2f is a multieplanesectional view taken along the line II`II ofFigure- 3- at the under side of the base above the rubber pad;

Figure 3 is; a sectional Viewv taken at the position of the lineII'I--III of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken on the line IV--IV' oi Figure 3.

As shown. in the drawings the device comprises a base l havingdependingl side walls Zand 3 anddepending-end Walls# and- 5,together-form?. L l a shelf with a-downwardiv facingopening: ithe-imergns-cf-zthe.aperture inthehase.- l through..

which is positioned a resilient pad 6' which preferably will be made ofsponge rubber or some other equally soft and' resilient material"suitable: to rest upon thev back oi the hand of. thefoperator during theuse, of the. device.

Secured to the underside the, base l' is a spring, having a tongue 'l'by means of which. it. is attached to the base. by rivets or the likeand having three independently flexible extensions; as shown. in Figure2", indicated as 8, 9 andllt.

The extensions 8 and' I 0 rest flatly upon tl'ieupper surface of the,pad 6j whereas the extension 9 is curved and depressed somewhat` belowthe general'. level oi the. lateral. extensions 8 and |Ujhavf ing a.portion contacting the pad and serving as a platform on which thesolenoid is supported.

The solenoid consists' of' a coil H positioned in a yoke lf2",whileareciprocable plunger i3I extends downwardly from within thesolenoid and is secured by av pair of. nuts h3. and P tothe extenr sion9.

A spring I6 surrounding the lower end of the plunger opposes the actionof the solenoid on4 the plunger. Where the plunger passes.. through across member l?, connected to the open end of the yoke l2, there isprovided aj brass bushing, le forguiding the plunger.

At the top of the yoke and threaded therethrough isl a plug I9 servingas the core of' the solenoid. APreferably this core plug will have aKeri (not shown)I i-n its upper end by means of which the core may berotated to be raised or lowered inv the yoke and` thereafter locked bymeans of the nut 2li to therebyvv adiustthe air gap between the core andplunger.

A brass guide pin 2| Wil-I be` ixed in: the. upper end of the plungerand allowed: to reciprocate in a suitable aperture in the core to1furnish. an additional guide for the. plunger.

It. will new beevident that the solenoid iswholly supported on thecenter portion 9 of the spring; by means oi the attachment of thelplungertherez-- to. As' e.; vertical guida. and to prevent: any rota.-tiorn .oi the: solenoid, there preferably will be. struck up from thebodyv of the. base a pair of ears. 22` andi 23 which will' bear .againstthe crosspiece H, having. a sliding contact; therewith. At 1 3 which theplunger extends, flanges 24 and 25 are bent downwardly as indicated atFigure 4.

A casing or housing 26 is provided and is secured to the base in anysuitable manner, for example by screws 21 and 28, being shaped toentirely enclose the solenoid and to serve as a convenient hand grip forcarrying the device.

Electrical wires 29 -connect the solenoid to a source of alternatingcurrent to cause it to vibrate in accordance with frequency of thatcurrent.

While springs or cords or other devices for securing the pad to the handof the operator do not form a part of this invention I have indicated inthe drawing that a spring such as 30 may be connected as shown while aheavy cord preferably of a flexible nature such as 3| may also beprovided.

For convenience a switch 32 may be interposed in the electrical circuitas indicated and the plug 33 may be used to connect the device to thesource of power.

In the operation of the revice the solenoid will be energized andde-energized in accordance with the frequency of the alternating currentand the plunger will thereby be caused to vibrate rapidly relatively tothe core. As the coil is not anchored directly to the casing, vibrationof the coil itself will occur, thus yielding a compound vibration whichis imparted to the spring member, primarily tothe extension 9, andthrough it to the independently exible extensions 8 and I0. As all threeextensions are in contact with the rubberv pad, these vibrations will-be imparted withvarying force to the rubber pad.

While the pad may have various shapes I find the shape indicated to beefficient and I prefer to provide in its upper surface a channelindicated at 34 extending centrally and longitudinally of the pad,leaving the adjoining portions of the pad out of contact with thespring. Consequently, the greatest portion of the vibratory thrustexerted upon the pad that will be felt occurs in that area adjoining thesolenoid, and nearest to the iinger tips of the operator. Y

While various means for securing the pad, preferably a sponge rubberpad, to the base may be employed, a snug lit therein coupled with theuse of adhesive between the contiguous surfaces oi the pad and base issatisfactory.

Some variation in vibration may be obtained by yvarying the air gap, asexplained above, but otherwise the device is generally free fromadjustment and is intended therefore to be a durable massage devicesuited for vigorous and long commercial use.

Although I have shown and described one particular embodiment of myinvention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact details ofconstruction herein shown and described. It should be understood thatthe invention comprehends all variations and modifications within theScope-of the appended claims. v

I claim as my invention;

l. A massage vibrator comprising a base having downwardly extending sideand end Walls forming a downwardly opening shell, a soft resilient padsupported within said shell and protruding below said opening thereof, acasing mounted upon the upper side of said base, a spring member securedto said base and extending therebelow and positioned 'for iiexing inresponse to vibrations imparted thereto and arranged in contact withsaid pad to vibrate the latter, and a solenoid having a coil positionedwithin said casing above said base and having a plunger extendingthrough spring member for supporting the entire solenoid thereby, thewhole being arranged whereby vibrations of the plunger are imparted tosaid spring member and thence to said pad.

2. A massage vibrator comprising a base provided with side and end wallsextending downwardly from the base to provide a downwardly openingshell, a soft resilient pad supported Within said shell and protrudingbelow the margins of said opening, a casing mounted on the upper side ofsaid base, a spring member secured to said base and extending therebelowand having a plurality of spaced apart flexible extensions several ofwhich are arranged to contact said pad to vibrate the latter, and asolenoid having a coil positioned within said casing above said base andhaving a plunnger extending through said base secured to one flexibleextension of said spring for supporting the entire solenoid thereby, theWhole being arranged whereby vibrations generated by said solenoid areimparted to said spring member extensions and thence to said pad.

3. A massage vibrator comprising a base, a resilient pad positioned onthe under side of said base, a spring member having one end anchored tosaid base and having two spaced apart iiexible extensions contactingsaid pad, a solenoid having a coil positioned above said base, and aplunger operable by the solenoid coil secured to said spring memberapart from said extensions supporting the coil and arranged to vibratethe pad through said extensions.

4. A massage vibrator comprising a base, a resilient pad positioned onthe under side of said base, a spring member having one end anchored tosaid base and having two spaced apart flexible extensions contactingsaid pad, a third extension on said member contacting the pad andlocated between the rst two extensions, a solenoid having a coilpositioned above said base, and a plunger operable by said coil securedto said third extension supporting the' coil and arranged to vibrate thepad through all three extensions.

5. A massage vibrator comprising 'a base, a resilient pad positioned onthe underside of said base, the central portion of said pad being freeof said base and thereby capable of vibratory movements independent ofsaid base, a leaf spring member having a vibratile portion secured tosaid central portion of the pad, a casing secured above said base, and asolenoid housed within said casing having a plunger secured to saidvibratile portion of the spring thereby supporting the solenoid andvibrating the spring and pad upon energization of the solenoid byperiodic currents.

6. A massage vibrator comprising a base, a resilient pad positioned onthe underside of said base, said pad having a recessed central portionfree of said base and thereby capable of vibratory movements independentof said base, a spring member extending below said base for contact withsaid central portion of the pad, a casing secured above said base, asolenoid housed within said casing, and a plunger axially vibratable bysaid solenoid and having one end thereof secured to said spring, therebyproviding the sole support for the solenoid and vibrating said springand pad.

'l. A massage vibrator comprising a base, a resilient pad supported bysaid base and having a recessed central portion :free of said base andthereby capable of vibratory movements independent of said base, a leafspring member havlng one end portion anchored to the underside of 5 6saidbase and having a vibratile portion lying REFERENCES CITED Withmsaid recessed central portlon of said pad, and secured to said centralportion of the pad, The foliowmg references are 0f record in the acasing secured upon said base, and a solenoid fue 0f thls Patent?positioneg within sailcasingt having a plunger 5 UNITED STATES PATENTSsecured o said vibra ie por ion of said spring member for vibrating thespring member and Nlulljr Gollme Malatelgls npgrffgzamon of the Solenoidby alter' 896,351 Doran Feb. 7, 1933 10 1,918,458 Dremel July 18, 1933LELAND H- SNYDER- 2,128,555 Benway Aug. 3o, 193s 2,378,335 Snyder June12, 1945

